Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number and type of media content sources that a user typically has access to, including, for example, streaming services, IP video-on-demand, network television programming, media content stored on digital video recorders, and a wide range of other sources.
Given the increased availability of media content, it has become increasingly difficult for users to remain “caught up” on all episodes of any particular television series or other serial content. As a result, at any given time a user might have access to some episodes of a series, but not others, leading to a lack of continuity in viewing. This has led to an increased popularity in “binge watching” content—i.e., viewing an entire season or indeed multiple seasons of a show from beginning to end in a relatively short amount of time.
Such viewing behavior is best accomplished in a context in which all desired episodes are presented sequentially in an easy-to-access form, such as within a DVD collection or during a televised “marathon” of a series. However, DVD collections can be expensive, and series marathons may not occur within a timeframe that is desirable for the user. Given the wide range of available media content sources, it is generally an intractable task for a user to collect all episodes of a show in series-order using a simple electronic-program-guide interface.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems, devices, and techniques for compiling multiple episodes of a particular series for viewing by a user. These and other desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background section.